10 Deaths on Minnesota Roads Since Thursday

It’s was a deadly weekend on Minnesota roads, with 10 traffic fatalities reported since Thursday. The weekend traffic deaths bring the 2016 preliminary fatality count to 307, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

"From motorcyclists to teenagers to two men in their 20s just a mile away from home, traffic fatalities have forever changed the lives of countless families who are feeling the shock and disbelief of a sudden loss," the Office of Traffic Safety said in a statement on Facebook.

Minnesota traffic fatalities

• 2016 (preliminary to date): 307
• 2015: 411
• 2014: 361
• 2013: 387
• 2012: 395
• 2011: 368

Authorities also note that pedestrian fatalities are a growing concern as preliminary numbers show 41 pedestrians have died this year on Minnesota roads compared with 23 reported a year ago.

Traffic deaths across the United States rose by 7.2 percent from 2014 to 2015, and the number was much higher for Minnesota.

The state saw a 13.9 percent increase, with 411 in 2015, up from 361 in 2014, according to data from the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Minnesota saw 7.49 fatalities per 100,000 population, more than twice as many as the lowest state in the nation, which saw 3.42 fatalities per 100,000 residents, and an increase from Minnesota's 2014 rate of 6.62.
The national average in 2015 was 10.92, an increase from 2014's 10.27 fatalities per 100,000 population.

Minnesota had 115 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2015, seven more than the previous year.

The data also found that from 2014 to 2015:

• Traffic deaths resulting from drivers who were under the influence of alcohol increased by 3.2 percent, from 9,943 to 10,265.
• Traffic deaths involving a distracted driver — someone texting, eating or otherwise not paying full attention to the road — increased by 8.8 percent, from 3,197 to 3,477.
• Fatal crashes increased across every type of vehicle except for drivers of large trucks.
• The number of miles people traveled in a vehicle increased by 3.5 percent, 3,026 billion to 3,131 billion, the largest percentage increase since 1992.
• The number of people injured in traffic accidents increased by 105,000 to more 2.4 million.

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